Teen killed on way to dice game

32nd Chicago Public Schools student slain since fall

Tenth-grader Marquell Blake was headed for a dice game Wednesday when an man shot the teenager in the chest, killing him on the street just a few blocks from his family home, relatives said.

Blake, 15, was on spring break when he was shot about 12:30 p.m. in the 7700 block of South Carpenter Street, police said. He was the 32nd Chicago Public Schools student slain this school year.

Family members said Blake had agreed to shoot dice before a man shot him in a robbery attempt. He was carrying a large amount of cash, and his attacker knew it, a source said.

Shortly after word of the shooting spread, his aunts and brothers gathered in the street near the shooting.

"He had his issues growing up," said an aunt, Eugenia Baxter, 29. "He was a teenager. He wanted room to grow up."

Growing up included hanging out with friends, shooting dice and sometimes fighting. Family members said Blake wasn't in a gang but that he was a tough, strong kid.

Krista Baxter said her nephew had four younger siblings, his parents were separated and he lived with his mother, who worked multiple jobs to support the family. She said Blake had lived in the area since 2003.

The shooting wasn't Marquell's first brush with street violence -- about six months ago he was stabbed in the back, his relatives said.

Cousin Jeanine Dowell, 23, let out a laugh as she recalled how Blake would ask her for $2 every time she saw him. "He was a good kid," she said.

Blake attended Chicago International Charter School-Longwood, 1309 W. 95th St. Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said the school has mobilized crisis intervention teams for when students get back from break.

Blake was supposed to be in Milwaukee for a portion of the break, but the plans were changed at the last minute and he remained in the city. Family members aid Blake's mother, Donnetta Baxter, was burdened with guilt over changing her mind.